jayinhk wrote:
Ferg, that pot will be wonderful with roasty oolongs. It looks like my F1 zini shuipings from the 80s!

Thanks for the feedback Jay! Tempted to try it with other teas, but I may just dedicate it to roasted oolongs right off the bat as I've had two really nice sessions with it now. Even at almost 100ml, this thing feels so tiny compared to my Kyusu. To be honest, I have never been able to quite get over their tiny size in general, which I why I think I end up releasing these things in time. I told myself I wouldn't set this one on the shelf and forced myself to use it right out of the box. Trying to break that relationship Yixing and I have had thus far. Time will tell.

Have you referenced that F1 zini SP as one of your favorites over the past? Just trying to recall offhand.

jayinhk wrote:
Ferg, that pot will be wonderful with roasty oolongs. It looks like my F1 zini shuipings from the 80s!

Thanks for the feedback Jay! Tempted to try it with other teas, but I may just dedicate it to roasted oolongs right off the bat as I've had two really nice sessions with it now. Even at almost 100ml, this thing feels so tiny compared to my Kyusu. To be honest, I have never been able to quite get over their tiny size in general, which I why I think I end up releasing these things in time. I told myself I wouldn't set this one on the shelf and forced myself to use it right out of the box. Trying to break that relationship Yixing and I have had thus far. Time will tell.

Have you referenced that F1 zini SP as one of your favorites over the past? Just trying to recall offhand.

Ferg, I have on IG, but not on here I don't think! I have several in the same clay, as well as a few in neiziwaihong from the same period. Your pot looks darn good for an F2!

victoria3 wrote:
Wow very beautifully proportioned piece William. The aesthetics are top top.
How do you grab the lid though, is it missing a knob or the sides extend to grab?

Thank you for your kind words Victoria!

The knob is that small circular part just above the lid. It is typically small, albeit I don't really know the reason. The lid can be easily grabbed by the sides .. the real problem is the knob itself, it becomes really hot when boiling water is used! Fortunately, I have been told how to overcome this small issue!

victoria3 wrote:
Wow very beautifully proportioned piece William. The aesthetics are top top.
How do you grab the lid though, is it missing a knob or the sides extend to grab?

Thank you for your kind words Victoria!

The knob is that small circular part just above the lid. It is typically small, albeit I don't really know the reason. The lid can be easily grabbed by the sides .. the real problem is the knob itself, it becomes really hot when boiling water is used! Fortunately, I have been told how to overcome this small issue!

Zared wrote:
That's a nice pot! Not hard to see why you had to have it. 70ml is prob one of my favorite sizes for solo drinking.

What's with the tiny handle on some of these older pots? My latest pot has one too.

Some shapes during the late Qing and R.O.C. period were often made with small handles. I think we can trace the reason down to one thing: what was considered fashionable at the time. For the same reason some shapes commanded the so called cannon spouts, or those rare example always from that period, where the Hongni clay was mixed with big sand/clay particles in order to give the teapots an interesting texture, etc.

Hello! I've been reading this forum (especially this thread) for a while, but joined only recently.

This is my latest acquisition from an antique shop in a small town in northern Japan. It is said to be stored in a storehouse for years.

Clay: Zhuni 朱泥
Size: 150cc
Thickness: Thick

It came with an old wooden box, wrapped in a fancy cloth and was very dirty - there were black stains all over. I thought they were mold, but even after rubbing with soft toothbrush with cleanser, melamine sponge, soaked in breach for hours then slowly boiled in kettle with tea leaves then left for hours x 3 times, there are still black stains here and there, especially inside the spout. It made me think they were actually sumi (Chinese/Japanese calligraphy cake ink) because small yixing teapots had been sometimes used as jugs...

It doesn't smell dirt, mold or bleach and nothing wrong in the brewed Dancong, but I feel a bit hesitant to use it.

Does anyone have similar experience? What did you do with your old teapot?

Any comment/guess of the year/shape name （thought 潘壺） of this teapot is also welcome!

The larger one was an Amazon gift so is some random clay. I've been using it for a year for absolutely everything. 140ml, though I usually have more like 80ml water in it. I like the wide shape and the large opening. 7 hole filter, haven't timed the pour but it seems reasonably fast.

The smaller pot is from Adventure in Every Cup, and was listed as an 80s Yixing 'Xi Fang' pot. It is 60ml, has one hole and pours more slowly (and gets clogged easily). I have only used it for 2007 sheng so far - did a side-by-side test in the two and found no real differences in taste right now. (I was mostly concerned if the first pot was doing anything bad - seems not).

Overhead:

The Xi Fang pot details:

Let me know if the lid mark is upside down as I took one the other way round too.

Amazon pot marks, just for completeness' sake!

ETA: I should have said, on getting the Xi Fang pot, the first thing that struck me was how much more delicate it is! That teeny taper on the handle and the thinness and sharpness of the spout. It's hard to judge from a photo of it on its own.